Ruger's 375 alaskan questions.

This is a discussion on Ruger's 375 alaskan questions. within the Ruger Bolt Action forums, part of the Rifle & Shotgun Forum category; I've been drooling over the export version of the gunsite scout for sometime now, and not knowing when or even if Ruger will release it ...

I've been drooling over the export version of the gunsite scout for sometime now, and not knowing when or even if Ruger will release it for the US as well, I've been eyeballing the .375 alaskan as an alternative.

Minus the detachable magazine, it seems to be a perfect replacement, with a heck of a powerboost to boot!

However, I do not reload, and therefore am really hung up on the fact that only hornady and double tap make ammo commercially for this round (at least as far as I'm aware).

Is this lack of commercial ammunition selection a legitimate concern? I really don't want to buy a rifle and be stuck with a niche or worse, forgotten and discontinued round.

The 375 Ruger is meant to be a big game rifle, as in Grizzly Bear, etc. It is a huge heavy round that has TWICE the recoil of a 30-06, so my guess is you will hate the rifle after, oh, the first two rounds. Brutal recoil is not conducive to accuracy or your doctor bill....

If you're looking for a close enough alternative to the scout rifle, what about the Ruger Compact Magnum in .308?

I have looked at the compact magnum as well, but I'm really just not in favor of blued carbon steel at all. I know it's silly aesthetics to some, but I really do like the look and maintenance advantage of stainless steel and have everything else in stainless steel as well.

Thank you for heads up on the recoil though, I should have done a bit more research on that beforehand as I agree completely that not wanting to shoot the rifle that much if at all due to that much recoil defeats my purpose of having it.

If you really want a stainless, handy rifle, and don't mind not having a detachable magazine, there are options. Would I be wrong in assuming that iron sights are a big part of what you're looking for? If so, what about taking a standard stainless Hawkeye in the caliber of your choice and:
-shorten the barrel to whatever length you want
- then have a front sight installed
- and install a rear such as the NECG

While a big boomer might appeal to many people, for whatever their reason, I've also always been leery of somewhat uncommon calibers because of ammo availability, cost, boo boo shoulder (ok, I'm wimpy) and so on. That's not to mean I have anything against the big bores, it's just that I myself don't have any interest or need of one.
As far as the little itty bitty .308, I recently dropped a bull moose with my scout.

As a matter of fact, yes, iron sights are definately what I'm after, it's funny that you posted your thread on them as I've always liked them and wondered why they are becoming so scarce.

I have also thought about getting a hawkeye and having the barrel shortened and a front sight put on, however the cost to do this on top of the cost of the rifle to begin with (on top of finding a good gunsmith) has made me look towards a rifle that is already setup this way.

I should probably just suck it up and wait for Ruger to come out with either a stainless compact magnum or the export version of the scout here in the US and just go shoot what I have in the meantime instead of blabbering on the forums about what I want to feed my addiction jones-ing with.

I'll throw in my thoughts too since you brought it up. The .375 Ruger was meant as an alternative to the .375 H&H but uses a standard length long action so in theory manufacturing costs would be lower to build the gun. At least that's my take on it. And you can find them new for around $700 if you look which is a LOT cheaper than most big game rifles in .375 H&H. The ballistics data that Hornady and Ruger developed are pretty impressive - again, compared to the .375 H&H. It's a big game rifle as Tater said. When you buy a box of Hornady ammo in .375 Ruger you are buying from Hornady's "Dangerous Game" line of ammo. So yes, the recoil is pretty stout but it's purpose is hunting big game, not plinking, target shooting, etc. Factory ammo is $2 each so there's another factor to consider.

If you were a reloader (I know the OP said he is not) you can de-tune the load down to a more benign level and the accuracy is very good. I shot a box of 20 factory rounds when sighting in mine and I was done! But that would be same with any other big game rifle in any similar caliber - .375 H&H. .416 Rigby, or especially .458 Lott.

Ruger did a nice job with the Alaskan and the Hogue stock has a nice cushy recoil pad. But it is a round that speaks with authority. Of course, when used as intended in a hunt you may only fire once, possibly twice so the recoil isn't going to bust you up as if you shot a couple of boxes at the range.

Revoliver, I'm like you - my rifles tend to be all synthetic stocks with stainless steel barrels. And that is one of the things I like about the Alaskan. I may never get my Alaskan coastal brown bear but it won't be because I didn't bring enough gun!

The .375 Ruger was designed to replace the much older .375 H&H, something it failed to do, largely because of the legendary appeal of the H&H due to its time in Africa. The .375 Ruger also labors under giant velocity spikes between one shot to another with Hornady ammo, sometimes in excess of 150 FPS. It also lacks the tapered case that the .375 H&H has, which contributes to reliabilty. Also, because the .375 Ruger has nearly the same velocity as the .375 H&H in a shorter case, it has higher pressures than the H&H and therefore making it less reliable in hot conditions. In short, the .375 Ruger has very little appeal outside of North America and PH's from Africa have slapped it down like a red-headed step-child.

Summed up: It's fine for North America, and it's available, just less so than the H&H; as to its future availibility I have no clue... It comes in a long-action instead of a magnum length action, which has its pro's and con's. Overall it's a wonderful cartridge for North America, not so much for other continents because of higher pressures and virtually no ammo availibility outside of the U.S. It kicks pretty good but real men can take it with a little recoil tolerance.

P.S, it doesn't have a belt like the .375 H&H, making it less appealing IMO aesthetically. Who doesn't think a belted magnum is awesome?

Well, I guess that settles it, it's a great rifle, but just not what I'm after. I've got my 6"GP100 little brother and it's 77/357 big brother for shooting all day at whatever on the cheap, but I'm looking for the 'Father' rifle now to complete the set.

Sucking it up for now is definately looking like my best if not only option.

Well, some time has passed and the urge to get the .375 Alaskan has only grown stonger!

I just can't stop thinking about having that just slightly larger version of my 77/357 that is just a bad arse mother for possible hunting trips with the in-laws and just to pull out and have a blast with on the firing line at the range with with a couple of (expensive!) rounds. I also keep thinking about what I posted earlier, about already having the GP100 and 77/357 for cheap(ish) range (and small game) fun.

The ammo availability concern has been subsided a bit due to finding out that Savage is also offering rifles in .375 Ruger, so that should help and I really don't plan on going outside the US with it, or trying to shoot it all day at the range either, so there's more reason to not worry about the price or availability.

I don't know if this makes sense, is just desperate addict reationale/justification, or a combination of both.

Revoliver, I say go for it! Of course I would since I already did the same thing. I don't think there's a lot of them out there but they do exist. If you get a newer one you'll get one with the upper sling stud on a barrel band. Mine was a new/old stock 2009 gun and the stud is on the forend. Not a big deal but some complained it pinched their finger on recoil so they moved it.

It's a pretty cool rifle and all your friends will want to shoot it so watch out - the ammo is expensive as you know. I put a scope on mine but you wouldn't have to for range fun. There are a few others here on the forum with one so you'll have some company!

The .375 Ruger was designed to replace the much older .375 H&H, something it failed to do, largely because of the legendary appeal of the H&H due to its time in Africa. The .375 Ruger also labors under giant velocity spikes between one shot to another with Hornady ammo, sometimes in excess of 150 FPS. It also lacks the tapered case that the .375 H&H has, which contributes to reliabilty. Also, because the .375 Ruger has nearly the same velocity as the .375 H&H in a shorter case, it has higher pressures than the H&H and therefore making it less reliable in hot conditions. In short, the .375 Ruger has very little appeal outside of North America and PH's from Africa have slapped it down like a red-headed step-child.

Summed up: It's fine for North America, and it's available, just less so than the H&H; as to its future availibility I have no clue... It comes in a long-action instead of a magnum length action, which has its pro's and con's. Overall it's a wonderful cartridge for North America, not so much for other continents because of higher pressures and virtually no ammo availibility outside of the U.S. It kicks pretty good but real men can take it with a little recoil tolerance.

P.S, it doesn't have a belt like the .375 H&H, making it less appealing IMO aesthetically. Who doesn't think a belted magnum is awesome?

There are a zillion 357 H&H weatherby's on the market, everyone of them has story or full size mount on the wall to prove it's self. For $700+ I can get a 357 H&H and a 300 mag Howa with an overmolded stock right out of the box.

Going back to the Weatherby, the only rifles I have sold for more than I paid new is when someone watched me make a hell of a shot to to kill a trophy deer or whatever we were hunting. They had to have that gun. In the hands of a fair shot a Weatherby has done it time and time again.

I have owned several 375 h and hs and recoil is a matter of stock design and rifle weight and recoil tolerance. I am 56 years old and to sight in a 375 leavel recoil rifle I have a bench that is designed to be fired from standing and this idea I saw in old gun magazines and was used by the British to test double rifles. I have fired over 160 rounds of 375 h and h in a 2 hour period with no ill effects. But then when I purchased a new rem 870 tactical ayear ago I fires in on 3 hour period 80 3 inch mag slugs 60 23/4 inch slugs and 100 rounds of 3 inch buckshot loads and as I said I am 56 and 5 ft 9 inch 280 lb I AM MOST ASSUADLY NOT A NAVY SEAL RECOIL TOLERANC EIS AMATTEROF PRACTICE AND GETTING USED TO IT.

There are a zillion 357 H&H weatherby's on the market, everyone of them has story or full size mount on the wall to prove it's self. For $700+ I can get a 357 H&H and a 300 mag Howa with an overmolded stock right out of the box.

Going back to the Weatherby, the only rifles I have sold for more than I paid new is when someone watched me make a hell of a shot to to kill a trophy deer or whatever we were hunting. They had to have that gun. In the hands of a fair shot a Weatherby has done it time and time again.

What is a .357 H&H? If you care very little about the aesthetics, you can also get a Rem. 798 for like $500 I believe. There are some very affordable options as you mentioned above.

I love shooting my 77/357 all day and then letting off with the (to me) 'handcannon' GP100, but I really, really want a sleeper BFG (big friggin gun, or in the case, caliber) to pull out and just blow up anything I aim at and everything around me with (due to muzzel blast).

If anyone asks me why I have it, I'll tell them it's for semi hunting! And by God, if bwinters can fire it, I can too!